The Teller's
by taniamarie20
Summary: A series of one shots about how life would've been had Tara escaped Gemma's attempt to kill her and the Teller's finally left Charming.
1. Chapter 1

This is gonna be a series of one shots of the life of Tara Knowles-Teller & Jax Teller when they finally escape Gemma and Charming. It won't be very frequent. Since I am writing My Daughter's Wedding. But when I get bored and moments of the Teller's lives hit me I'll post a chapter. Time will jump heavily since it is only one shots. Hopefully you enjoy the first one!

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Tara Knowles never knew true fear. Not the kind that makes your life flash before your eyes. Not until this very moment as she fought to get free of her crazy mother in law's grasp. She could taste the soapy water filling her lungs, the food from breakfast.. or lunch.. or maybe dinner coating her already choking throat. She wasn't sure what the food was, all she knew was it tasted awful, it tasted like death. She tried to fight the fuzziness that grew with each passing second. To fight the darkness that was swallowing her whole. But the harder she fought, the harder Gemma pressed her face into the water. Tara's face was practically smashed against the metal of the sink.

Tara's fingers stretched wildly, reaching for anything.. something that could save her from the reaper she literally felt over her shoulder.

Her hand finally managed to grab something sharp, and she didn't think twice before lifting it up and slamming it with every ounce of strength she had left into Gemma's leg.

Gemma howled, her hands slipping free of Tara's short locks.

Tara took the release of her head to pull herself back in a half stumble/half run, gasping for breath as she coughed and spit out the chunks of soggy food. When she could, she let out a piercing scream that echoed through the small community. Hoping like hell Eli could get to her before Gemma got the meat fork she was yanking out of her leg first.

"I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant." Tara cried in a hurried panic, coughing as she forced her voice to work again. But that didn't seem to stop Gemma. Her eyes were crazy, like she wasn't even her anymore. Tara had seen Gemma in a lot of dark and scary places but this was by far the scariest she had ever seen her. She literally had no soul left.

A shot rang out, making Tara jerk in fear backwards as she slammed her hip against the table.

Gemma's body jerked as well, her hands grasping at the gaping hole in her chest where her heart should be. She stumbled only a few steps, her eyes heavy on Tara.

"I'm.. sorry.. baby." Gemma whispered in a gurgled breath, blood dripping down her chin.

It would be the last words Gemma Teller-Morrow ever uttered, because after that her body collapsed and she was gone. No light, no life. Tara wasn't sure whether to be sad or relieved.

Tara's eyes drifted to the doorway, to see who had killed Gemma.. who had saved her life.

Eli Roosevelt. Jesus Christ, Eli Roosevelt had saved her life.

She moved around the table in slow steps, her body shaking all over, her eyes producing enough tears she could probably fill a bucket. She avoided the blood from Gemma's lifeless body like a plaque and latched herself to Eli when her hand hit his.

He pulled her into a tight hug and there was something warm and safe about his cologne that was making her heart slow just a tiny bit.

However, as quickly as the comfort came.. it disappeared.

Tara shivered when she saw Juice standing in the open door, his eyes staring down at Gemma like she was just.. nobody.. like she wasn't the woman who had been his pseudo mother for years.

"We got," Was all Eli got out before a knife slammed in his back. Tara hadn't even seen it coming before he was collapsing against her in a heap against her body.

"No, God, no!" Tara cried, scrambling backwards on her butt to get away from Juice who was coming at her like a cougar ready for dinner.

"He killed Gemma.. you killed Gemma. You have to die. It's the code. Jax would want this. Jax asked for this." Tara lifted her foot as Juice was reaching for the gun at his back and with all her might slammed her foot against Juice's knee and took the chance she could when she heard the fragile bone crunch to scramble to her feet and dash for the back door.

She had barely made it to the back door when she felt a sharp pain on her side. She grasped at it, pressing against the wounded flesh with all her strength as she dashed out the back door.

She fumbled across the wet grass, slipping and sliding as she made it to the fence. She grabbed the rotting wood, yanking herself up with all her might, trying to ignore the aching pain at her side.

"You have to die!" She heard behind her as she was climbing over the fence. She had gotten to the other side when she glanced at the back door and saw Juice literally pulling himself out the back door. She didn't waste a second longer to look before hoping down in her neighbor's backyard.

"Help me!" She screamed, grabbing her side tightly as she ran up the back steps of her neighbor's house.

The door flung open, an older woman pulled Tara in without a care, before slamming the door behind her and clicking the lock.

"Murry! Get your gun and call the cops!" The woman cried, helping Tara collapse against the chair and grab a hand towel next to the sink. Tara's eyes couldn't leave the sink as the woman pressed against her bleeding side.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"What the hell is going on.." Jax muttered as he seen the police cars racing past the ice cream shoppe.

"I don't know, man, but whatever it is.. practically every Charming Pig is driving toward it." Happy said, staring out the front windows with Jax.

"Tara's that way.. my house.. Tara." It's as if a lightbulb went off in Jax's head and he dashed out the front entrance, nearly jumping onto his bike, helmet be damnded and took off.

XOXOXOXOXOOXOX

"Tara!" Jax screamed, running full force at an officer by the front door who stopped him with a rough shove back.

Happy, Chibs and Bobby trailed behind at a slower pace, all three fearing the worst.

"This is a crime scene. Nobody's allowed inside."

"That's my home! My wife's inside there!" Jax growled, shoving at the officer with every ounce of stength he had. The officer wobbled and slammed against the grass. Jax took the chance to jump over him and rush inside the house.

His knees nearly buckled when he smelled the blood.. and even more when he saw Eli dead at the doorway. The man who was meant to protect Tara. From everything.. and anything. Or anyone.

"Tara," Jax mumbled, his feet numbly lifting him over Eli's body and stopping dead when he saw his mother in the middle of the kitchen.. her body.. just that.. a rotting piece of flesh. A body. She wasn't her. There wasn't color to her once dark complexion.

His eyes slowly scanned over her face, wincing at the drops of blood from her now blue lips, some even smeared on her chin.

Her eyes were open, which made everything inside him cringe.. because there wasn't any life to them.

"Tara," He said in a deep panic. If his mom.. if Eli.. if they were dead in the place Tara was supposed to be.. where was Tara?

His eyes caught site of bloody foot prints leading out the back door and before he could follow them someone grabbed his arm, twisted it and slammed him against the wall outside the front door.

"Let me GO! Where's my wife?! Where's my fucking wife?!"

"Jax," The tiny broken sound of Jax's name sent his head jerking toward his left. Toward the grass.

Tara stood with an officer, her clothes bloody, her eyes heavy. Jax shoved the officer holding him aside, running toward Tara and grabbing onto her as tightly as he could.

"Ouch," Tara said in a soft gasp causing Jax to release her and start scanning over her body.

"What happened to you?" He said, finally noticing the torn shirt under her jacket and the bandage.

"Juice shot me."

Everything in Jax turned to venom.. the kind that destroyed anything in his wake. The kind that swallowed a man whole and turned him into a monster. Into the monster Tara said he was.

"I'm going to kill him." Jax snapped, his eyes dark as he searched the neighborhood around him. As if he'd find Juice.. and thankfully for him he did.

Juice sat on a gurney, handcuffed to it, his eyes as dead as they were truly about to be in seconds when Jax was finished with him.

Jax released Tara from is grasp, his moves quick and deadly as he lunged toward Juice, wrapping his thick fingers around his neck. He choked and choked till Juice was gasping, his hands weakly grabbing for Jax's.

"Die," Jax whispered, his eyes connecting only with Juice's.

A shot rang out, sending Jax's fingers fleeing away from Juice's neck and backing up, watching the blood pool from the side of Juice's head.

Jax's eyes darted to the person behind the gun and found Chibs staring back at him.

"I got this, brother. Be with your family." He told Jax before cops were slamming him against the ground.

XOXOXOXOXO

"Jax," Tara said, sitting up slowly, her fingers sliding into Jax's as she pulled him closer. They had taken her to the hospital, for stitches to her side. Thankfully the bullet had only grazed her side, but she had still needed the stitches. This also gave Tara a chance to escape with Jax before someone told him his mother was involved. Before she had the chance too. Before Patterson could take him from her.

"I have an idea to satisfy Patterson and keep you home. But you have to do this by yourself. You can't get a vote. There won't be enough time to ask for a proper vote."

"Fuck the club. I almost lost you tonight because of that God Forsaken thing my father forced on me. I don't care. How do we fix this?"

Tara wanted to explain it wasn't John's fault. He wanted a club.. a brotherhood. Not a violent and deadly circle of people that ended up costing him a lifetime of memories with his son. But she decided the past was where it was suppose to be and she just wanted to leave it there.

"We blame Juice. All of it. We tell Patterson she can pin it on Juice and you and I.. the boys.. we'll leave town and never look back. They can even say we turned Juice in and put us in witness protection."

Tara waited for the rejection. For Jax's hesitation, but this time he simply smiled, kissed her fingers and nodded. "That's so crazy it might work."

Patterson had wanted him to be a man.. to take care of his family and he was. By finally doing what he had promised since he got out of prison.


	2. Chapter 2

As the sign for Tampa, Florida flashed by, Tara felt a smile creep across her lips. She was truly free of Charming. Her and the boys.. and even Jax were free. They were away from the violence.. the destruction and the toxic atmosphere that was sure to ruin her boys.

She reached a hand over, sliding her fingers into Jax's, smiling as he turned to look at her. She saw her future in Jax.. she saw a bitter and ugly past.. but she saw a bright and happy future and that erased all the bad.

She twisted in the seat, smiling back at her boys fast asleep in their car seats. They looked as peaceful as Tara felt. But even with that peacefulness came the weight of the thing she still hadn't told Jax. They had done everything so quickly. They deal with Patterson. Saying goodbye to the club. Burying Gemma. Putting the house up for sale. Putting Bobby's name on the papers for TM. Finding Tara a new job elsewhere.. that she hadn't even had the time to tell him that Gemma wasn't a victim in Juice's terror.. but the beginning of Tara's. She could only be thankful that no one had big enough balls to tell Jax his mother was part of it.

She faced forward, her head leaning over to lay against Jax's shoulder.

"Your mom.. she.."

Jax's ears and eyes perked up at the sound of Tara's voice in the quiet dark car. Neither had spoke in hours. Just content with staring at each other and silently driving.

"She was part of it.."

"Part of what?" Jax asked.

"She.." Tara didn't want to ruin what Jax and Gemma had. It was unhealthy and it strangled Jax and anyone around him.. but it was his mother. How could she tell him the truth?

"She tried to kill me. Before Juice was there. Before Eli showed up. She was dark.. something in her had snapped.. we fought.. I wasn't strong enough and she slammed my head in dish water.. I nearly blacked out.. but somehow I managed to grab this carving fork in the drain board and I just stabbed her.. I screamed and before she could hurt me again.. Eli shot and killed her. She apologized.. like it registered what she had just been doing right before she died. Her soft sorry still haunts my dreams.. I think I looked at your mother wrong. She needed mental help.. she wasn't strong. She was just.. crazy. And I didn't help her.. I'm a medical official.. and I didn't see the signs."

Jax's eyes remained on the road. His demanor sent chills through Tara's spine. Not because she was scared of him.. but because she could see the monster they wanted to leave behind sparking up in him.

The car jerked to the side of the road, sending Tara crashing roughly against Jax's body.

Jax slammed on the breaks on the side of the freeway, sending the car to a jolting stop. He slammed the door open, ripping his seat belt off and going toward a tree.

Tara wasn't sure how hard he was hitting the tree as she slid her seat belt off but she swore she heard bones crunching. Even from this distance.

Tara was torn between going to Jax and staying with her boys. But she couldn't just sit here while Jax destroyed his hands. She slid the keys out of the ignition. Checked on the boys in back and slid out of the car, hitting the lock on the automatic key ring and ran toward Jax.

"Jax, stop!" She cried as she stuffed the keys in her pocket. "Stop!"

She grabbed his shoulder and he whipped around, his eyes crazy, but under all that crazy Tara could see it. The pain he had at his mother's funeral.. the pain of losing a mom. Only this time.. he had lost the love for her he once had.

"Please, baby.." His body seemed to relax under her touch, the tense parts of him melting like butter as her fingers rubbed over them.

He latched onto her in a tight hug and tears came as they slipped into the grass.

He cried because he nearly lost Tara and his mother would've been to blame. He cried because his mother was a monster.. because he had mourned a woman who didn't deserve it. Because his heart ached for the loss of a mother he had once knew. She hadn't always been a monster.. but something in her cracked and broke after Thomas died.. and over the years it only got worse and he ignored it. He cried because he had kept her in the boys lives.. in Tara's and it nearly cost him Tara.

"I'm sorry," Jax said, pulling back as he seen Tara look away from the car. "If I would've ran sooner.. God, you nearly died."

He grabbed her face, and she placed her hands on his.

"The point is I didn't.. and you are finally giving me the life I've wanted. Let's put your mother in the past.. where she belongs. Both of us. Neither of us will let the guilt eat us alive. We'll just let it go. We'll leave Charming and everything in it behind... okay?"

He nodded and they both stood and went back to the car with the boys who were still sleeping peacefully.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

"I like this place!" Tara said as they parked. "It's even better than it was on the internet. Quiet, cozy.. and big enough to house us.. and our three kids."

Jax's brow cocked as his eyes turned. "Three?"

"Jax, please don't hate me."

"Hate you? Jesus Christ, Tara, I could NEVER hate you."

"I was really pregnant... am really pregnant. I threw myself on the table in a certain way I knew wouldn't hurt the baby.. and I didn't plan on telling you even when we reconnected because I didn't want to hurt you with losing another baby. With losing the baby girl we had dreamed of.."

Jax's eyes slid over her flat stomach and a smile broke across his face.

"The past is the past, right?" Jax asked.

Tara nodded.

"That's where we're leaving it. I don't care what you did in desperate times.. I just care about now." He finished talking with a kiss against Tara's stomach and Tara curled her fingers in Jax's short hair.

"I love you, Mrs. Teller."

"I love you, Mr. Teller." Tara said, kissing Jax deeply as he lifted his head.

"Now, let's get our boys inside our new home and in real beds and let me nurse your boo boo's."

Jax smirked, wiggling his eyebrows before flying out the door, causing Tara to break out in a fit of giggles.


End file.
